ECONOMIC JUSTICE: The Katrina Pain Index, seven years later

by Bill Quigley
Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace

1 – Rank of New Orleans in fastest growing US cities between 2010 and 2011. Source: Census Bureau.

1 – Rank of New Orleans, Louisiana in world prison rate. Louisiana imprisons more of its people, per head, than any of the other 50 states. Louisiana rate is five times higher than Iran, 13 times higher than China and 20 times Germany. In Louisiana, one in 86 adults is in prison. In New Orleans, one in 14 black men is behind bars. In New Orleans, one of every seven black men is in prison, on parole or on probation. Source: Times-Picayune.

2 – Rank of New Orleans in rate of homelessness among US cities. Source: 2012 Report of National Alliance to End Homelessness.

2 – Rank of New Orleans in highest income inequality for cities of over 10,000 Source: Census.

3 – Days a week the New Orleans daily paper, the Times-Picayune, will start publishing and delivering the paper this fall and switch to internet only on other days. (See 44 below). Source: The Times-Picayune.

10 – Rate that New Orleans murders occur compared to US average. According to FBI reports, the national average is 5 murders per 100,000. The Louisiana average is 12 per 100,000. The New Orleans reported 175 murders last year or 50 murders per 100,000 residents. Source: WWL TV.

13 – Rank of New Orleans in FBI overall crime rate rankings. Source: Congressional Quarterly.

15 – Number of police officer-involved shootings in New Orleans so far in 2012. In all of 2011 there were 16. Source: Independent Police Monitor.

21 – Percent of all residential addresses in New Orleans that are abandoned or blighted. There were 35,700 abandoned or blighted homes and empty lots in New Orleans (21% of all residential addresses), a reduction from 43,755 in 2010 (when it was 34% of all addresses). Compare to Detroit (24%), Cleveland (19%), and Baltimore (14%). Source: Greater New Orleans Community Data Center (GNOCDC).

27 – Percent of people in New Orleans live in poverty. The national rate is 15%. Among African American families the rate is 30% and for white families it is 8%. Source: Corporation for Enterprise Development (CEFD) and Greater New Orleans Community Data Center (GNOCDC) Assets & Opportunity Profile: New Orleans (August 2012).

33 – Percent of low income mothers in New Orleans study who were still suffering Post Traumatic Stress symptoms five years after Katrina. Source: Princeton University Study.

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Bill Quigley is a Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace who is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola New Orleans. This article was co-authored by Davida Finger. Finger also teaches at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.  The authors give special thanks to Allison Plyer of the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center.  You can reach Bill at quigley77@gmail.com.